RootsTech 2025

To register for Friday's sessions click here:  RootsTech 2025 Friday Sessions

9 am – Becoming Betsey: Find Female Ancestors with Cluster Research

Female ancestors are difficult to track without utilizing the methods of cluster research. This case study will show how only two personal records are extant for a female ancestor who died before 1875, but that her life may be recreated with records made by her associates and family. 

Rebecca Whitman Koford works as Executive Director of the Board for Certification of Genealogists® and as Director of the Genealogical Institute on Federal Records (Gen-Fed) held annually at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.  Her focuses areas are Maryland and military records at the National Archives, especially those of the War of 1812.

10:30 am – Beginning with AI Genealogy:  Getting Started with Generative Artificial Intelligence in 2025 

This class serves as a basic introduction to the use of generative artificial intelligence, especially large language models, for family history and genealogical work. Many folks desire to start using artificial intelligence to further their work, but do not know what to expect, how to get started, or what tools to use. This class will get users up-to-speed on getting started with AI Genealogy in 2025: what tools to use, what reasonable expectation to have, what skills to develop. After this class, students will understand how newcomers can get started using generative AI, especially large language models such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity. 

Steve Little is the AI Program Director for the National Genealogical Society. His passion lies in AI & genetic genealogy: with a keen interest in endogamy, pedigree collapse, deciphering multiple relationships, and an insatiable curiosity to explore beneficial uses and current limits of artificial intelligence in genealogy. 

12 pm – RootsTech Keynote Address with Dana Tanamachi

Renowned artist Dana Tanamachi and RootsTech platinum sponsor MyHeritage share powerful messages. 

Dana Tanamachi is a New York City-based artist and designer who enjoys living a quiet life and working with her hands. In 2009, an impromptu chalk installation for a Brooklyn housewarming party landed Dana her first commission for Google and set the popular chalk-lettering trend—and her career—in motion. After working under design icon Louise Fili, she opened Tanamachi Studio, a boutique design studio specializing in custom typography and illustration for editorial, lifestyle, food, and fashion brands. She has been commissioned globally by clients such as Target, Nike, USPS, Penguin Books, Ralph Lauren, Instagram, and West Elm. Named a Young Gun (YG9) by the Art Director’s Club in 2011 and a Young Creative to Watch by HOW Design Magazine, she has had the distinct honor of creating custom cover art for O, HOW, and TIME Magazines. 

2:30 pm – Scottish and Irish Genealogical Connections

This panel session is designed to help you kick-start research into your Irish and Scottish ancestors. It features three professional genealogists from Ireland and Scotland who will introduce you to the connections between these countries that are significant for family history research. Find out about the population movements between Scotland and Ireland as well as the similarities and differences between records and research methods across the regions. Learn how to trace your Scottish and Irish ancestors effectively by discovering the best websites and tools to use, clues to look for in records, and techniques for making the most of your DNA matches. 

Morag Peers specializes in British and Irish research and is also interested in travel from and to Scotland, or through the country as part of a larger emigration journey story. She now runs her own company, helping others uncover their own roots in Scotland. 

Claire Bradley is an Irish professional genealogist working with both traditional records and genetic genealogy. She is also the Director of Irish Studies at the International Institute of Genealogical Studies and gives regular lectures both on and offline to libraries and family history societies everywhere there is an Irish diaspora. 

Ciara Chivers, a genealogist based in Northern Ireland clients to discover their family history and connect with their heritage. She developed the website MemsDead.com to help people use a wonderful source for researching Irish family history and local history - the Journal of the Association for the Preservation of the Memorials of the Dead in Ireland (also known as the Journal of the Irish Memorials Association). 

4 pm – Ship Manifests: An In-Depth Look

Ship manifests are the “go-to” record to find immigrant arrivals in the 1800s and 1900s. Discover all the different information they can tell us. 

Rich Venezia is an expert in the research of 20th-century immigrant ancestors, especially underutilized record sources and federal records, often unwrapping volumes of records at the National Archives that haven't been opened in decades.